Lawful Neutral
by Dubrovnik
Summary: The thing about Narutoverse is that, as long as you know what you're doing, it's pretty easy to be a prodigy. What isn't easy is actively avoiding derailing the plot before it even starts. Something else that isn't easy is making sure the people without plot armor don't die. SI/OC with Gamer powers.
1. Chapter 1: Rebirth

**Alright, new fanfic. Naruto Gamer fanfic, to be specific. I feel like the first two chapters are a bit shit, but I also feel like it gets better.**

 **Hello.**

…

 **Hey… can you hear me?**

…

 **I know you can.**

...Ugh…

 **Great, you're cognizant. Pay attention, now.**

Who..? Wh-where… where am I?!

 **I said PAY ATTENTION.**

GAK! My attention snaps towards glowing blue box before me.

 **Great, great. Seriously, pay attention, this is important.**

 **You're dead.**

Wh- bu- ho- but I- WHAT?! No! That can't be, I had so much I wanted to… to… dammit. Fucking dammit. Fuck it.

 **Wow, usually the freakouts last longer. Great mental fortitude, I must say. Anyways, besides the whole dead thing, I've got good news for you. You're not** _ **staying**_ **dead.**

Oh. Well that's good. I clear my throat _except I don't since I'm without a body right now holy shit_ and say, "There's a catch. There's always a catch with this sorta thing."

 **Bah, don't ruin my fun. But yes, there's a catch.**

 **You'll be reincarnated into, whoop-de-fucking-doo, Narutoland. Betcha didn't see that one coming.**

… Of fucking course. Magical ninja land, filled with wonder and excitement and mass murdering psychopaths where one little itsy bitsy mistake will cost me an arm and a leg. Literally.

Also, isn't this a fanfic plot? What are you trying to pull, blue box?

 **Fuck you, I'm very original, I'll have you know. I'll forgive you if you can guess what the catch on that catch is- and just as a hint, it is a** _ **very good thing**_ **for you.**

Judging by the blue box… "You're sending me in with Gamer powers." The situation has improved significantly.

 **You guessed it. Also, I'm getting bored of this conversation, so go ahead and have some fun.**

Shitshitshitshitshit-

* * *

-shitshitshitshitshitshitshitshit okay I'm done.

Never again. I'm never experiencing birth again. Fuck that, I'm done with it.

Even with that, I've realized that the world around me in muted and all monochromatic. A glowing blue text box floats before me.

 **Mandatory Quest Received!**

 **Name: Complete the Tutorial**

 **Objectives: Complete the Tutorial**

 **Bonus Objectives: N/A**

 **Reward: +1 XP**

 **Failure: Impossible**

Ah. I see. It's tutorialing me. Fuck.

 **Welcome to the Gamer! Say [Status] to continue!**

I grumble and baby-babble a "Status." I am now annoyed that I cannot speak properly.

 **Character Status**

 **Name: Ch** **ūmon** **?**

 **Gender: Male**

 **Age: 0**

 **Class: Child**

 **Level: 1**

 **XP: 0/100 (0%)**

 **Title: N/A**

 **Conditions: N/A**

 **Maximum HP: 10**

 **Maximum CP: 12.5 (Reduced by 90%)**

 **CP Regen per second: 0.092 (Reduced by 90%)**

 **STR: 1**

 **DEX: 1**

 **VIT: 1**

 **INT: 9**

 **WIS: 7**

 **LUK: 5**

 **Your Name, Gender, and Age are details that may affect how others in the world view you.**

 **Your class will typically be your current occupation.**

 **Your level is the total skill you have acquired in your life quantified into a set of milestones.**

 **XP is gained in various ways and increases your level once maxed, granting you 5 stat points to spend.**

 **Title is a passive buff/debuff that you can select.**

 **Conditions are passive buffs/debuff that are not optional to have, but most can be removed by some means. They typically last a short time and are non permanent.**

 **Maximum HP is the quantification of your life force. It is rounded to the nearest whole number.**

 **Maximum CP is the quantification of your chakra pool.**

 **CP Regen is the rate at which you regenerate CP.**

 **STR is a measure of sheer strength, used for melee attacks and lifting, among other things.**

 **DEX is a measure of nimbleness, quickness, and accuracy, used for ranged attacks and sneaking around, among other things.**

 **VIT is a measure of toughness and endurance, used to calculate most of your HP and also determines how long you may last in combat.**

 **INT is a measure of general knowledge of the world, used to increase your total CP and academic subjects, and a little to CP regen, among other things.**

 **WIS is a measure of understanding of how the world works, used to increase your CP regen, your chakra control, and a little to your total CP, among other things.**

 **LUK is pretty bullshit, don't bother investing in it beyond getting its related perks.**

 **Say 'Inventory' to continue!**

Gah. Info dump, much? Whatever. Notably, no first name? "Inventory," I babble.

 **Inventory**

It's fucking empty, surprise surprise.

 **This is where any items and equipment you're holding onto will be stored once you actually get them.**

 **Say 'Perks' to continue!**

Simple enough. "Perks," I gurgle out.

 **Perks**

 **[Newborn]**

 **Reduces maximum CP by 90%.**

 **Reduces CP Regen by 90%.**

 **Reduces ability to function properly by 90%.**

 **This is where various, non-optional, mostly permanent renditions of conditions will be stored. If they aren't permanent, then they're long-lasting. Most of the time, they'll be buffs rather than debuffs, so don't be deterred!**

 **Say 'Skills' to continue!**

Fucking… really? _Ninety percent?_ That's kind of extreme. Makes sense, though, so I'll tolerate it. "Skills," I sigh.

 **Skills**

 **Any skills you pick up will be placed here, where you can view them, their effects, and their levels.**

 **Say 'Quests' to continue!**

Cool. What a useless tutorial. "Quests," I baby-grumble.

 **Quests**

 **[Complete the Tutorial]**

 **This functions as a quest log, allowing you to check quests whenever necessary!**

 **Say 'Finish Tutorial' to end the tutorial, or say 'Restart Tutorial' to begin it again!**

"Finish Tutorial." I baby-babble.

 **Quest Complete!**

 **[Complete the Tutorial]**

 **All Objectives Completed!**

 **+1 XP!**

The world slowly returns to full color, and all the doctors begin to move normally. Great.

A couple hours of being manhandled later, I find myself in the arms of who I presume to be my new mother.

 **Ch** **ūmon Niko**

 **Level 7**

 **[Skilled Blacksmith]**

Only level seven? Ah, shit, my mother is a civilian, isn't she. Regardless of that, she's got long brown hair and dark eyes. A light tan covers her distinctly attractive face- can't say I blame whoever my father is for picking her- and she is gazing upon my very fondly. Also, holy hell, my mother's a blacksmith? Not bad, not bad at all. I can tell, given her calloused fingers pressing against the back of my head. Though, that does make me wonder why I've not been wrapped in a blanket. Kinda strange.

" _Honey, come h- come here, you idiot! You better get over here and meet_ Roiyaru!" Niko looks off to the side, and a male voice responds… light-heartedly? I hear the sounds of footsteps as somebody walks over. Also, despite the Japanese language being completely unintelligible to me, 'Roiyaru' sticks out oddly to me. It seems to be… Oh, duh, it's my name, isn't it?

A bearded, tan face comes into my field of view. Black hair, this time, with some sharp blue eyes. My eyes flicker above his head.

 **Ch** **ūmon Ryusei**

 **Level 8**

 **[Skilled Carpenter]**

Ah, double shit. My dad's a civilian, t-

 **A skill has been created by studying multiple objects/people!**

 **Observe (Active) Level 1, 0% XP**

 **Grants the user a list of information on the target. The details increase with the level of the skill.**

 **Current details: (For targets no more than five levels higher than the user) Name, Maximum HP, Level, Title, Obvious Conditions.**

Oh, how wonderful. I let out a baby gurgle to satiate my cooing mother. I don't bother using **[Observe]** on her, since it'd be pointless.

* * *

It's been a few months since… my birth. Weird to think like that. My **[Newborn]** perk was replaced by **[Infant]** pretty quickly, which lightened the CP debuff by 10% and the functionality debuff by 20%.

I'm debating if the CP debuff is the more annoying one, and I've actually decided no. Considering that all I could really do was think, interact with my new parents, and mess with chakra, the root of my problems at the moment was my lack of functionality. Speaking of…

I reach a mental hand inside of my, feeling around for my chakra. I'd made pretty much zero progress towards finding it, but recently, I unlocked a skill while doing this.

 **A skill has been created by blocking out the outside world!**

 **Meditation (Active) Level 1, 0% XP**

 **+50% CP Regen when active.**

 **Skill will be cancelled if the user's concentration is broken.**

At the same time I gained the skill, I felt _something_ within me. It had to be chakra. A few more hours, meditating in this crib, would go a long way.

And a long way it went. Not only did **[Meditation]** gain an additional level, but…

YES! I fucking got it! I've got my chakra, right goddamn here! I tug at my new-found chakra, and…

 **A skill has been created by attempting to manipulate your chakra!**

 **Chakra Manipulation (Passive) Level 1, 2% XP**

 **Passive: -0.1% Chakra Cost for all jutsu.**

 **Becomes more difficult to level as the user's Maximum CP grows. Levels up as any chakra-based technique is used properly.**

My moment of triumph is cut off by my childish yawn. Stupid infant's body. I feel myself drift off into the sweet embrace of sleep.

I wake up to my mother scooping me out of my crib. I do some happy babbling whenever she speaks, and I try to giggle when I think I should. It's rough when you can't understand a thing.

I sorta fall into a rhythm of baby babble and such, paying as close attention to what my mother's saying as possible. I try to imitate her rather than making miscellaneous noises like I was.

 **A skill has been created by attempting to speak Japanese!**

 **Japanese Fluency (Passive/Active) Level 1, 0% XP**

 **Active: Speak the language of Japanese.**

 **Passive: Understand the language of Japanese.**

 **CP Cost: 0**

Figures. Though, I've gotta say, it's a bit strange to turn language learning into a skill. I guess it kinda makes sense, so I won't question it. Maybe Narutoverse's rendition of the Gamer is weird like that.

Speaking of Naruto… the future. What am I going to do? I don't know what point in the timeline I'm in- and I only barely know the important events, at that- so I'm pretty fucked if I change anything without thinking.

If I change anything.

…

Yeah. I won't change anything, on purpose, at least. I'll become an S-Rank shinobi so I won't die and I'll see what happens from there. I'll just do my job and nothing more. I'm already well on my way to prodigy status, so S-Rank is just a hop, skip, and a jump away, right?

But for now, I'll try to stumble my way into learning a language. Oh, and become godlike with my chakra control. That'd be another thing. I should learn to walk ASAP, though. The sooner I can walk, the sooner I can run around, and the sooner I can start doing training.

I let out a devious gurgle to my mother. Fucking infant body.


	2. Chapter 2: Beginnings

**Once again, this chapter's kinda rough, and not super high-quality.**

* * *

It's been a few more months, and I've been doing well for myself. Every night, I've been diverting a significant portion of my time to meditation and to manipulating my limited chakra supply. It's been… enlightening.

For one thing, my chakra recovers so slowly that it's actually fucking painful. Holy shit, it pisses me off. Due to just how slow it recovers, my progress has been set back a ridiculous amount. Not that it matters, since…

 **A skill has leveled up!**

 **You have hit a temporary level limit on [Chakra Manipulation]!**

 **Chakra Manipulation (Passive) Level 5, 0% XP**

 **Passive: -0.5% Chakra Cost for all jutsu.**

 **Becomes more difficult to level as the user's Maximum CP grows. Levels up as any chakra-based technique is used properly.**

 **SKILL AT TEMPORARY LEVEL LIMIT**

 **Due to the riskiness involved with overusing your chakra coils at a young age, a limit has been placed before you accidentally damage them.**

Yes, I'm very angry, and shut up. Focus on how high I've gotten **[Meditation]**.

 **Meditation (Active) Level 19, 76% XP**

 **+145% CP Regen when active.**

 **Skill will be canceled if the user's concentration is broken.**

This skill is a godsend. It might not have sped it up much in the beginning, but this strikes me as incredibly exponential and I love it.

In other news, my first words were yesterday. A happy moment for a happy family, I guess.

I was with my father and mother at the time, as I usually am, and they were doing typical baby talk, when I squealed to my mother, "Lo' you, Kaa-chan!" and waved my arms adorably. Did I mention I'm an adorable baby? Because I am.

Of course, I'm sure my parents were very confused as to how a five-month-old baby managed to speak a simple sentence as his first words, but they set that question aside in exchange for attempting to get me to say more.

These efforts pushed my **[Japanese Fluency]** level up by quite the amount. It's now at level eight! It was enough to make slightly longer and more coherent sentences. I was still accidentally dropping letters here and there, but I was miles ahead of my age group.

After mustering all that up, I set out to walk. I need everything in my power to speed the process up, so I tried coursing chakra through my body to reinforce it. Obviously, this created a skill.

 **Spreading chakra throughout your body has created a new skill!  
Chakra Reinforcement (Passive/Active) Level 1, 0% XP**

 **Active: +1 STR, VIT, +10% Movement Speed**

 **Chakra Cost: 1 CP per second (0.995 CP per second)**

 **Passive: +0.5% STR, VIT**

 **The user sends chakra to various locations in their body to reinforce it, allowing them to hit harder, tank harder, and move quicker.**

Yep. That's a damn good skill, which I will now use to assist in my learning to walk.

And so I begin the struggle to stand up. I shakily drag myself to my feet, using my crib's rails as a support. Easy enough, in this case. I then activate **[Chakra Reinforcement]** and let go of the rail and attempt to take a step.

Unsurprisingly, I fall flat on my face. I drag myself back to my feet using the railing. This is going to be a long process.

* * *

Around a week into my attempts at walking, my father walked into my room and spotted me trying to walk.

"Roi-chan! Are you trying to walk?" I get the gist of what he's saying, here. He rushes over, looking into the crib at me. He reaches in and holds me up. " _Ambitious little rascal, ain'tcha?_ " This time, I can't keep track of the speech. He sets me down on my feet, chuckling. "It'll be easier if you try on the floor, Roi-chan." I understand this sentence alright.

I stand, legs wobbling. I lift my foot, shifting side to side for a moment.

 **Maintaining your balance has created a new skill!**

 **Balance (Passive) Level 1, 0% XP**

 **+0.5% DEX**

 **The user's measure of clumsiness. Low is bad.**

I yelp- very adorable to my father, I'd imagine- and fall on my ass. Fucking hell.

Ryusei laughs and puts me back on my feet. "You can do it, Roi-chan." He smiles encouragingly at me.

I'll admit it; my father makes for a pretty solid dad.

I once again attempt to walk.

Rinse and repeat.

Until… one step, two step… three step… outta chakra, fall on my ass.

 **By taking three or more steps, a skill has been created!**

 **Walking (Passive) Level 1, 0% XP**

 **A measure of the user's ability to walk.**

Yeesh, even walking has a skill? I can see balance being a skill, but isn't this a bit too much? It doesn't even give any benefits! But…

I discard my pessimistic thoughts and look up at my father, grinning. "Tou-chan! Tou-chan! I did it!"

My father scoops me off the ground, laughing heartily. "That's my Roi-chan!" He sets me back in my crib. "Now, you get lots of rest, eh, kiddo?"

He wasn't wrong. I was pretty exhausted; I'd been trying for a couple hours before he'd arrived and it'd take another hour just for me to finally take some proper steps. Also, babies have shit for stamina.

I decided, just this once, to let myself sleep.

* * *

You know, I feel like that sleep did some good for me. For one thing, I finally noticed something; I didn't have the Gamer's Mind or Body skills.

Which was concerning.

Also notable, and this was one I definitely should've noticed sooner, was that I wasn't getting messages about my HP and CP restoring when I woke up in the mornings. Unless that was an effect of Gamer's Body, but I'm unsure.

Whatever. Back to my pseudo training. Walking and talking, like any good baby.

 **New Perk Gained!**

 **[Prodigy]**

 **+1.5 INT per level (Bonus factored in retroactively)**

 **+25% Skill XP gain to all categories**

 **+5% INT**

 **+2 INT**

 **The village will stop at nothing to get you in their shinobi corps.**

...Well then.

That was unexpected.

Though… I want to see my stats now. "Status," I hear my childish voice say.

I ignore the irrelevant stuff.

 **Maximum HP: 10**

 **Maximum CP: 33.25 (Reduced by 80%)**

 **CP Regen per second: 0.217 (Reduced by 80%)**

 **STR: 1.005**

 **DEX: 1.005**

 **VIT: 1.005**

 **INT: 13.125 (12.5 + (12.5 x 0.05))**

 **WIS: 7**

 **LUK: 5**

Well, that's a pretty decent increase in INT- from nine to thirteen. My STR, DEX, and VIT are strangely exact, at that. Discarding that, the bit about the village wanting me to be a shinobi concerns me a little. Sure, I'm gonna be one anyway, but how early do I want to be out doing missions? Fighting for a place I've only seen or read about? Fighting for a future I likely won't ever see?

And besides, unless I surround myself with plot-armored friends, how do I know my friends won't drop at any second? How do I know all my efforts, training since before I could walk, won't get wasted? How do I fucking know?!

And god-fucking-dammit I was trying to avoid getting all fucking pessimistic. I was doing _so well!_

Never doing it again, I swear it to myself.

Good thing I got this perk while my parents were asleep, considering I just realized I'd been quietly weeping. Fucking overly responsive infant body.

I decide to distract myself by getting to work on my walking. I will learn to walk properly. I will.

 **A skill has leveled up!**

 **A skill has leveled up!**

 **A skill has leveled up!**

I forget to sleep.

Throughout the night, I level **[Walking]** to level six, **[Chakra Reinforcement]** to two, and **[Balance]** to nine. I also level **[Meditation]** once, since I occasionally had to stop to use it when I was running low on chakra.

 **You have gained a condition!**

 **[Exhausted]**

 **-50% to all stats excluding LUK.**

 **-25% Movement Speed.**

 **Does not affect Max HP, Max CP, or CP regen.**

 **Afflicted person feels extremely irritable. Lasts until the afflicted person gets some proper rest.**

Fuck it, I'm going to sleep.

* * *

As I wake up, I take note of something I missed last night; just how punishing **[Exhausted]** was. It's quite astounding.

 **Condition [Exhausted] has been removed!**

As expected.

In other news, I'm not totally certain as to where in Narutolandia I am. I'd initially assumed Konoha, but I realized that wasn't the case when my parents took me home; there were no signs of any Hokage Monuments, no Hokage Towers, no landmarks of Konoha that I could remember. Hell, this place was much more rural than it was urban. I have the _slightest hunch_ that I'm out in some miscellaneous, non-hidden village, which is kinda rough for me. No easy access to shinobi training, which means I'll either have to wing it and hope for the best or hope to hell that shinobi recruit from outside their village. Or both. Both works.

But… until then, I'll let myself fall into an easy monotony.


	3. Chapter 3: The Road

**This chapter's a whole lot better than the previous two, in my opinion. Plus, stuff actually happens, so that's always fun. Plus, I've got a fourth chapter already made after this one.**

* * *

My routine continued for… maybe two years after that. I came to love my new parents dearly, in that time, and also in that time, my prowess grew wildly.

I got the following levels for my skills:

 **[Meditation]** up to level 42,

 **[Chakra Manipulation]** up to level 25, its current cap,

 **[Chakra Reinforcement]** up to level 15, its current cap,

 **[Observe]** , which I neglected a ton, up to level 7,

 **[Japanese Fluency]** up to level 44,

 **[Walking]** up to level 50, which was its max,

and **[Balance]** up to level 50, which was _its_ max.

Not only that, but my **[Infant]** 'perk' was swapped out for **[Toddler]** , which completely eliminated my functionality reduction and reduced the CP debuff to 50%.

Here're my stats now:

 **Name: Chūmon Roiyaru**

 **Gender: Male**

 **Age: 2**

 **Level: 1**

 **XP: 1/100 (1%)**

 **Title: N/A**

 **Conditions: N/A**

 **Maximum HP: 11**

 **Maximum CP: 83.125 (Reduced by 50%)**

 **CP Regen per second: 0.5425 (Reduced by 50%)**

 **STR: 1.075**

 **DEX: 1.25**

 **VIT: 1.075**

 **INT: 13.125 (12.5 + (12.5 x 0.05))**

 **WIS: 7**

 **LUK: 5**

Once again, the stats are super specific, but DEX looks better now that I've maxed **[Balance]**. Oddly enough, my Max HP went up, so I guess there's some rounding going on there.

 **A Quest Has Been Created!**

 **Name: A Trip to Konoha**

 **Objectives: Survive the Bandit Attack**

 **Bonus Objectives:**

 **Entire Caravan Survives**

 **Kill 1 Bandit**

 **Reward: 50 XP**

 **Bonus Reward:**

 **200 XP, 250 Ryo**

 **500 XP, 500 Ryo, ?**

 **Failure: Death**

...Um. Shit.

Okay, okay, so I should focus on the why. My parents are skilled in their place of work. In the past two years, they've been holding off on taking trips to Konoha to sell goods because of the ongoing war. They'd mentioned going on a trip to Konoha- and bringing me with- a week or so ago. I'm not sure which of the Shinobi Wars this is, but I do know that I don't want to be caught on the battlefield before I'm prepared for it.

Of course, that's not optional anymore.

My mother comes into my small room. "Roi-chan, it's time to go~!" she sing-songs, sweeping me off the ground in one quick movement. I'm too busy being shell-shocked at what I'm seeing to actually, properly respond. "...Roi-chan?" her cheerful tone takes a more serious downturn, looking at me concernedly.

I sober up. "Eh, kaa-chan, I was thinking about how cool Konoha must be, uh-huh!" I childishly state, giving my mother a toothy grin. "I wanna meet one of those shi-no-bi, like in the storybooks!"

For the record, I've recently acquired to **[Reading]** skill, a month ago, and've gotten it to level thirteen. Nothing special about the skill, as it's got no effect other than acting as a measure, like **[Walking]** does.

Mother giggles. "Well, Roi-chan, you need to be nice to a shinobi when you meet one, okay?" she boops me on the nose.

"Okay~!" I respond.

She sets me down, gives me my packed bag, pats me on the head, and walks out of the room while humming.

My face darkens once she leaves. I need to prepare.

I sling the bag- backpack, I realize- across my back, and swiftly follow after her. I take a turn into the kitchen, and I look up at the counter. I know that the knives are stored on the counter.

I hadn't ever tried wall walking before, but there's a first time for everything. I push chakra to my feet and as I place my right on the area under the counter. It sticks.

 **By successfully sticking yourself to a wall, a skill has been created!**

 **Wall Walking (Passive/Active) Level 1, 0% XP**

 **Active: Allows the user to scale vertical and near-vertical surfaces.**

 **Passive: +0.1 DEX**

I slowly, carefully, walk up the side of the counter until I reach the top.

I eye the knives, casting **[Observe]** on each.

I find my choice.

 **[Kitchen Knife]**

 **Quality: Uncommon**

 **Level: 2**

 **Durability: 24/25**

 **Melee Damage: 7-14**

 **Ranged Damage: 2-4**

 **Description: A knife forged by Chūmon Niko, Chūmon Roiyaru's mother.**

It'll have to do. I swing the knife experimentally.

 **By using a knife as a weapon, you have created a skill!**

 **Melee Knife Mastery (Passive) Level 0, 0% XP**

 **+0% Damage while wielding knives**

 **+0% Accuracy while wielding knives**

I brush off that it's level zero, and I put the knife in my inventory and put it into my right hand's weapon slot. The weapon doesn't immediately appear, but it does when I will it to, and it returns when I do the same thing.

I suck in a breath and breath back out. I hop off the counter, landing on the wooden floor without too much sound. I run after my mother.

I can't fuck this up. I can't.

* * *

The caravan is painfully slow. The journey is scheduled to take three damn weeks. Though, there's one thing that I'm grateful for.

The caravan leader had the forethought to hire a genin team as guards, thank fuck.

A week stretches by. I'm pretty sure I'm acting off the whole time, and I really hope nobody realized it wasn't anything more than nervousness.

Then, deep into the night of the ninth day- tenth morning?- I jerk awake at the sound of combat nearby. Instantly, I will the kitchen knife into my hand. I creep away from where me and my parents are- were- sleeping, careful not to make a sound.

 **By attempting to move silently, a skill has been created!**

 **Stealth (Active) Level 1, 0% XP**

 **User moves at 25% of their movement speed, but they make 25% less sound.**

As I read the description of the skill, I'm reminded to activate **[Chakra Reinforcement]** once I get into a fight. The extra strength will come in handy, I hope.

I slowly slip around one of the wagons, towards the fighting. I see a genin fighting four or five bandits at once. Shit.

I inhale, then exhale, activating **[Chakra Reinforcement]** as I do so. I stalk towards to battle.

 **Stealth Broken!**

Wh- shit!

One of the bandits fighting the genin breaks off, seeing me. He runs towards me.

I shakily raise the kitchen knife. I wasn't ready for this, but I can do this. I use **[Observe]** on the bandit.

 **Name: Kosu**

 **Age: ?**

 **Gender: Male**

 **Class: Bandit**

 **Title: N/A**

 **Level: ?**

 **Conditions: ?**

 **Maximum HP: 150?**

 **Current HP: 100?**

 **Maximum CP: ?**

 **CP Regen: ?**

 **STR: 20?**

 **DEX: 10?**

 **VIT: 10?**

 **INT: 5?**

 **WIS: 5?**

 **LUK: 0?**

I can do this. I can do this. He got some sort of shitty club as a weapon. I can do this. He's getting close. I can do this.

He reaches out to grab me, and I dodge, nearly too slowly, and strike out with my knife.

I slash his arm.

 **Dealt 16 damage**!

 **By dodging an enemy's attack, a skill has been created!**

 **Dodge (Passive) Level 1, 3% XP**

 **+0.5 DEX**

I ignore the pop-up, instead backpedaling away from the bandit, who is growling in rage.

"You little SHIT! I'll kill you!" He raises his makeshift club and swings down at me.

Telegraphed as hell.

I sidestep it- ha, I'm badass- and I stab at his weapon arm, at the crook of his elbow.

 **CRITICAL HIT! Dealt 33 damage!**

The bandit stumbles back, yelling profanities. I don't let up my advantage, jumping onto his front and stabbing away.

 **Dealt 17 damage!**

 **Dealt 10 damage!**

 **Dealt 17 damage!**

 **Gained 276 XP! Gained 27 Ryo! Gained item [Makeshift Club]**

 **Level up! Five stat points gained! HP and CP fully restored!**

I breathe harshly, looking down at the corpse. I stare at it. I look up. The fighting has stopped- no, finished. The genin killed the other bandits. I cut my **[Chakra Reinforcement]**.

"Kid, did you..?" The genin- Furutani Kado, his name is- states at me, disturbed.

I stand up from the bandit's body. The corpse. The man I- that I- I can't…

I puke. Furutani rushes over to me. "Hey, kid, it's okay, it's…" he stops talking. His gaze darkens. "Who am I kidding," he mutters, "you just killed a man. It's not okay. But this is no time to stop and cry, yeah?" He gives me a friendly smile- despite the blood splattering his moonlit, pale face, it seems somehow comforting.

I force myself to calm down. Furutani is right. "I… I guess it isn't…" I stagger to me feet, but Furutani sweeps me into a princess hold.

"Kiddo, let's get you to your parents. You know where they are?" He asks gently.

"I- they're-" I stop, and point in the general direction of where my family had been sleeping.

"Alright. Come on, kiddo, the moon is shining, the wolves are howling, and you're gonna be fine, right?" He moves quickly- faster than he probably should while holding a two-and-a-half-year-old- to where I directed him.

He stops, cursing. "Sorry, kiddo, but I gotta try and fight." He sets me down next to a wagon- my family's wagon- and grabs a kunai from his pouch. He glances at me, and reaches back in and grabs a second, holding it out to me.

"Here. Use this if any bandits try to attack you."

I look at the kunai with reverence; an actual weapon! A real one, not some stupid kitchen knife repurposed as a blade. I gingerly take the shinobi tool. "Th-thanks, Furutani-san." I use **[Observe]** on it.

 **[Kado's Kunai]**

 **Quality: Special, Uncommon**

 **Level: 24**

 **Durability: 300/300**

 **Melee Damage: 35-70**

 **Ranged Damage: 45-60**

 **Description: A gift from Furutani Kado to Chūmon Roiyaru. Chūmon Roiyaru's first real weapon.**

I stare in awe at the weapon's damage. It's on a whole 'nother level from the kitchen knife!

Furutani crouches down and pats my head. "Stay safe." He ninjas away.

I stare at the kunai. I look up at where Furutani had been. My grip tightens, my knuckles turning white.

I'm not going to stand idly by just because I'm not a shinobi yet.

I stand, taking a step forward.

I'm not going to let Furutani risk his life for my family.

I activate **[Chakra Reinforcement]**.

Not without me, right there, fighting alongside him.

I take off in a dead sprint. I can feel my chakra ticking down with every step I take and I don't give two shits. I'm going to help Furutani. I'm going to save my family.

I burst into the campsite where I had initially slept at, kunai at the ready. I see Furutani once again taking on multiple bandits and I see-

I see a bandit raising a rusty sword to attack my mother.

"NO!" I shout, sprinting as fast as I can. I shove chakra into my legs, blasting me off the ground.

 **By forcing yourself off the g**

SHUT THE FUCK UP!

I fly through the air like a cannonball, slamming into the bandit kunai-first.

 **CRITICAL HIT! Dealt 249 damage!**

 **By using a kunai as a melee weapon, a skill has been created!**

 **Kunai Mastery (Passive) Level 2, 44% XP**

 **+1% damage when making melee attacks with Kunai**

 **+1% accuracy when making melee attacks with Kunai**

I'm moving at such an intense speed that his ribs give way, the kunai piercing right through his internal organs. I'm covered with viscera.

 **Gain 194 XP! Gained 26 Ryo!**

 **Level up! Five stat points gained! HP and CP fully restored!**

But my mother is safe. My mother is okay.

I turn to Furutani. He's just taken out the last bandit. He looks at me disbelievingly. "Didn't I tell you to stay safe?" He walks over to me. "You've covered yourself with gore, and I've got no clue how you even went that fast without chakra." He pulls a small rag from his pocket and wipes my face off.

"Eh, sorry, Furutani-san, but I couldn't just sit and wait while you were-"

I freeze as my mother pulls me into a tight hug, sobbing.

Furutani looks slightly uncomfortable. "I'll make sure that the nearby civvies are alright then return here," he mutters to himself before ninjaing away.

I lean into my mother's hug. I shouldn't be doing this shit at two-and-a-half.

Then I notice something is off.

"Kaa-chan? Where's Tou-chan?" I quietly, slowly ask. I twist around to face her.

Mother dries her tears. "I'm not sure," she says, "but he did insist on trying to find you when you weren't here when we- where _were_ you, Roi-chan?" She looks ready to cry again, but she's fending the tears off.

I look at the ground, ashamed. "K-kaa-chan, shouldn't we go find Tou-chan?"

She blinks. "I- yes, Roi-chan, we should." Mother rises to her feet, carrying me up with her.

She marches in some direction that leads towards where I think is the caravan's center- we were at the back- and after maybe a minute of slow, quiet walking, a window opens in front of me.

 **Quest Complete!**

 **[A Trip to Konoha]**

 **All Objectives Complete!**

 **+750 XP, +750 Ryo, Attention of Konoha Shinobi Corps!**

 **Level up! Five stat points gained! HP and CP fully restored!**

I quietly suck in a breath. Thank fuck. Thank fucking fuck. I exhale just as quietly.

Then my mother gasps and begins to run. "Ryusei!" She yells. No. Nonononono the fucking game it lied to me it fucking lied to me nononono why why no why

My father is struggling to breathe his front is open from a slash there's blood everywhere he's smiling why is he smiling he's dying whywhywhywhy

My mother collapsed in front of him. "Ryusei… no…" she says, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Hey, hey, it's alright, Niko." He's dead calm _oh god why did I word it like that nononono_

"It's not alright!" Mother yells. "You're- you're _dying_ , Ryusei!"

Father chuckles. "I am, aren't I?" He slowly moves his head towards me. "Roiyaru. C'mere." When had Mother set me down?

I stumble over to him. "T-tou-chan..?" my voice is insubstantial, quivering.

"Roiyaru. Gr-" he coughs violently before continuing, "Grow up big and strong for me, okay? Think y'can do that?"

I nod. "Of co- of course I can, Tou-chan, I'll grow up to be the bi- the bigg- the biggest and the strongest! For you!"

He shakily smiles and reaches into one of his pockets. "Good. And…" he pulls a small wooden figure from his pocket. "Here. For you. I was going to give to you when we got to Konoha, but like that plan's been cut short…" he coughs again, and I take the figure from him. It's an amazing carving of all three of us- him, Mother, and I- all together, like a family.

I weep as Father stops breathing.


	4. Chapter 4: Konoha

**Frickin' heck, you lot, I didn't expect that many follows and favorites! Kinda ridiculous. In any case, here's the fourth chapter, as promised. This one's a bit dark, just like the last one.**

* * *

Father's funeral was quick.

Mother's not stopped crying since he died, no matter how much I try to cheer her up. I'm worried.

We're still going on to Konoha, despite the death. This is normal, apparently. _Normal_.

I guess it is.

Furutani's been keeping an eye on me- and by extension, my mother. Furutani's awesome, even if he's only a genin.

I don't get how the guy is only a genin. Maybe he's just overdue for a promotion. He's such a kind-hearted dude, and he's fairly skilled in mid-range combat, from the tricks he's showed me.

Oh, yeah, the tricks!

To- keep my mind off what had happened- Furutani started to teach me little shinobi tricks with kunai and stuff, including how to properly throw one.

From that, I got a new skill!

 **Kunai Ranged (Passive) Level 11, 22% XP**

 **+5.5% damage when making ranged attacks with Kunai**

 **+5.5% accuracy when making ranged attacks with Kunai**

 **+16.5% projectile speed when making ranged attacks with Kunai**

At first, Furutani had been confused at just how a two-and-a-half year old was picking up fighting techniques so quickly, but he decided to stop after the first week.

The guy, proving just how _awesome_ he is, also taught me, get this, the Academy Jutsu!

 **Bunshin (Active) Level 3, 13% XP**

 **Creates one accurate intangible clone of the user.**

 **Can create two semi-accurate clones of the user at an increased cost. (30/29.25 CP)**

 **Cast Speed: 2.35 seconds**

 **CP Cost: 20 (19.5)**

 **Henge (Active) Level 5, 77% XP**

 **User becomes disguised as whatever they please.**

 **Cast Speed: 4.5 seconds**

 **CP Cost: 10 (9.75)**

 **CP Cost per Second: 0.5 (0.4875)**

 **Kawarimi (Active) Level 4, 68% XP**

 **User swaps places with a target object.**

 **Cast Speed: 4.6 seconds**

 **CP Cost: 50 (48.75)**

Also, I checked on the skill I'd dismissed before reading a week back. I haven't trained it at all since I got it, but it exists.

 **Chakra Leap (Active) Level 1, 16% XP**

 **User is launched through the air at 500% of their movement speed, before debuffs. 100% increased damage on impact with enemy. 50% increased chance for critical hit on impact with enemy.**

 **CP Cost: 75 (73.125)**

I haven't used it since it's ridiculously expensive, of course. There's no cost-effectiveness at my current level.

Other than that, there's another piece of good news: the caravan is finally arriving at Konoha.

I'm perched on the edge of the front wagon, chakra sticking me to it. Furutani is regaling me a tale of his first C-rank mission, which, as they do, went very wrong. I gazed up in awe at the high walls of the village- doubtlessly it was magnified by my small size- as Furutani's sensei and the caravan leader walked up to the gate's guards.

Furutani chuckled at my behavior. "Quite the sight, isn't it, Roiyaru-kun?" he gestures to the cliff face in the distance. "Look closely, right there. You see that? It's the Hokage Monument- all of the Hokages' faces are carved up there."

I squint over at where he's pointing. As I'd suspected, three faces.

I didn't recall if the Second Shinobi War had the Third or not. I hope to hell this isn't the second one, since Tsunade isn't quite famous yet, so her medical knowledge also hasn't been established in Konoha. Less medical care is always bad in a war.

"Woah… Furutani-senpai, I wanna go up there." I give Furutani a sharp look as he leans his head back, laughing.

"Go _up_ there? You're pretty funny sometimes, y'know that?" the genin grins and pats me on the head, despite my attempts to swat his hand away.

"Eh? I'm serious, Furutani-senpai!" I grumble. The caravan leader and the jounin sensei both seem to finish their discussion with the gate guards. The gates of Konoha are slowly swung open.

As the caravan slowly wheels onto the streets of Konoha, I swivel my head around, trying to take in all the sights there are to see.

There are about as many people as I expected, considering Konoha is only a semi-urban area. Still, though, it's been a couple years since I last saw this many people in one place, so I play the part of the child I'd been up 'til now and start crowd-watching.

Things are… normal. As if there was no war.

Back on the road, everybody had been tense, even before we'd set off. As if we'd been expecting to be attacked and killed at any second.

I hadn't quite noticed that atmosphere until I was properly here in Konoha, which was much more carefree. Perhaps only the lightest shocks of wartime had touched them?

Well, that's the civilians, at least. I notice a couple shinobi jumping across rooftops at incredibly high speeds. The few that don't seem to be on duty are tense.

But then I see him.

Pale skin, long, greasy black hair…

A teenaged Orochimaru. Holyshitholyshitholyshit.

He's observing the caravan as it comes in, drinking something-or-other as he does so.

I easily hold back my shudder, and I glance away from him in order to check the crowd for anybody else notable. Nobody.

Furutani pokes me on the back of the head. "Hey, Roiyaru-kun."

I crane my neck to look back at him. "Eh?"

"I'm probably gonna be on my way soon, but… I like you," he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small piece of paper. "Here. While you're in Konoha, if you ever need my help, come here. It's my apartment."

I toothily grin. "You got it, Furutani-senpai!" I give him a mock-salute.

Furutani messes up my hair. "Keep an eye on your kaa-san, okay?" He looks back at my morose mother. I nod. "See ya." he ninjas away.

"See you," I respond a little too late. I sigh.

The rest of the wagon ride is silent. Eventually, the caravan leader brings us to where we'll be staying for the next few weeks as we sell our wares. A very… mediocre? inn. Nothing especially notable about it.

I read the small note that contained Furutani's address a couple times.

I once again sigh and lead my unresponsive mother to the room that the innkeeper shows us. I'm also carrying all the wares that my parents- my mother, now- were meant to sell.

I have a hunch there'll be no sales.

I look at the kunai given to me by Furutani, flipping it into the air and re-catching it by the blade, repeating the action several times. It's soothing.

I occasionally drop the weapon, but I finally get the hang of it. Catch eight… catch nine… catch ten- THUNK!

I drop the kunai onto the floor as I read the window that popped up.

 **By training yourself to catch a kunai by the blade, you have gained +1 DEX!**

Fucking. Hell.

I completely forgot about this! I'm an idiot! All the other things I did went towards skills, so they must not've counted towards increasing my stats! Fuuuuhuhuhuuuuck…

I inhale, then exhale. I can't believe it, but I'd also forgotten to distribute my stat points!

I was more scattered by my father's…

More messed up than I thought.

"Status," I mutter.

 **Name: Chūmon Roiyaru**

 **Gender: Male**

 **Age: 2**

 **Level: 4**

 **XP:171/750(23%)**

 **Title: N/A**

 **Conditions: N/A**

 **Maximum HP: 11**

 **Maximum CP: 106.75 (Reduced by 50%)**

 **CP Regen per second: 0.637 (Reduced by 50%)**

 **STR: 1.075**

 **DEX: 2.5**

 **VIT: 1.075**

 **INT: 17.85 (17 + (17 x 0.05))**

 **WIS: 7**

 **LUK: 5**

 **Stat Points: 15**

My INT was looking even better than before.

I tap my Stat Points.

The base stats all appear before me.

 **STR: 1**

 **DEX: 2**

 **VIT: 1**

 **INT: 15**

 **WIS: 7**

 **LUK: 5**

 **Stat Points: 15**

I pause for a moment, finger pressed against my chin. I then reach out and tap **STR** , **DEX** , and **VIT** twice each, and then dump the rest into **INT**.

 **STR: 3**

 **DEX: 4**

 **VIT: 3**

 **INT: 24**

 **WIS: 7**

 **LUK: 5**

 **Stat Points: 0**

I dismiss the small window, instantly feeling the effects of the level up.

I look at my new stats.

 **Name: Chūmon Roiyaru**

 **Gender: Male**

 **Age: 2**

 **Level: 4**

 **XP:171/750(23%)**

 **Title: N/A**

 **Conditions: N/A**

 **Maximum HP: 32**

 **Maximum CP: 154 (Reduced by 50%)**

 **CP Regen per second: 0.826 (Reduced by 50%)**

 **STR: 3.225**

 **DEX: 5**

 **VIT: 3.225**

 **INT: 27.3 (26 + (26 x 0.05))**

 **WIS: 7**

 **LUK: 5**

 **Stat Points: 0**

Woah, I nearly tripled my HP! I doubled my DEX, too.

I grin, but quickly wipe it off my face. Training. I need to train way more than I had been.

If I'd been using more of my time training, I could've…

I consider my options. I know for a fact I saw some training grounds on the way here, but I'm not sure if non-shinobi are allowed to use them.

Oh, well. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. I open the admittedly small window of the room and place my door on the windowsill. I turn and look at my mother, who hasn't said a word since the funeral. "I'll be going out for a bit, Kaa-chan." I say, quietly.

She slowly nods.

We're on the first floor, so it's only a short drop to the ground. I easily make the landing and straighten, walking out to the training ground.

I run to the training ground at a pace just above a jog. After a minute or so of going at this pace, I slow to a stop in front of the location. The gate is shut- is it normal for them to have gates?- but I just walk over the thing.

I walk through the training ground, which is a flat area with patches of trees dotting it here and there. I walk to one of the groves, reaching upwards and plucking a leaf.

Time to do leaf-sticking.

I place the leaf on my forehead, pumping some chakra into the area. I easily do so.

 **By using chakra to stick a leaf to yourself, a skill has been created!**

 **Leaf-Sticking (Active) Level 1, 0%**

 **0.25 CP per leaf per second. (0.24375 CP)**

 **+0.1% WIS per level.**

I grin at the WIS bonus, and grab seven more leaves, placing them on various places throughout my body. This comes around to 1.95 CP a second, so I can keep it going to a pretty solid amount of time. That should last me for… about a minute and fifteen seconds. Wait, no, two minutes and fifteen seconds. I forgot to factor in my CP regen.

I kick back and relax, and I begin to worry about my mother. She'd not been simply mourning, she was… depressed. I frown, scratching the back of my head as I think of this.

 **A skill has leveled up!**

 **A skill has leveled up!**

About a minute into my chakra exercise, I stand up and will my kunai into my hand.

No kunai appears. Ah, shit, that's right. I dropped it back at the inn.

I shrug and turn towards a tree and I raise my fists. I punch and punch. I need to raise my VIT or STR somehow, and this is the only way I can think of doing it.

I wildly attack the tree, picturing it as one of the bandits that must've killed my father. Pain shoots through my fingers as I strike the tree.

 **-1 HP!**

 **-1 HP!**

 **-1 HP!**

I rear my fist back and punch as hard as I can. I hear something crack in my left hand, and I stumble back while grasping it.

 **-4 HP!**

"Ow! Crap…" I wheeze in pain. The leaves had fallen from their places around my body someway through my assault on the tree. I'm breathing hard.

 **By exhausting yourself exercising, you gained +1 VIT!**

I breathe hard, looking down at my bloodied hand. "How am I going to fix this?" I say, glaring at the misshapen finger that must've broken.

I level my breathing. My options are going back to the inn and deal with the consequences there, or go to the hospital. Out of the question, I don't know how much the Konoha Hospital charges its patients, so I'm not taking the risk. Instead, I'll take the long and slow route of stealth back home. I can't have anybody seeing me and insisting on bringing me to the hospital.

* * *

Luckily enough, I make it home without running into anybody. I hop back in through the window, doing my best to ignore the pain in my hand when I'm forced to use it to stabilize myself.

I look towards the small slice in the floor where my kunai should've been.

Maybe mother had put it somewhere safer?

...No, it's not anywhere in the room. There's only two other rooms, the bathroom and the small bedroom.

I check inside the bedroom, which is lacking in my mother or kunai as well. As such, all that leaves is the bathroom or outside the inn.

I walk over to the bathroom door and knock on it. "Kaa-chan? Are you in there?" No response.

I slowly push the door open. "Kaa-chan? He-" I stop, choking. "KAA-CHAN?!"

Blood. Everywhere, blood. I see- my mother- she's- her neck- a kunai in her neck- _my_ kunai in her neck…

I stumble forwards, collapsing on my knees. "Ka-kaa-chan? P-please, tell me this is a joke, please… PLEASE!" My vision blurs and I can't quite see my moth- my mother's fresh corpse.

I barely register as my hand automatically reacher over and takes the kunai from my mother's neck, blood seeping out as I do so. I heave, clutching my hands and kunai to my stomach, puking to the side.

This can't- this can't be real. Not both of them, not so quickly!

I stand up, backing away from my mother's corpse, blood covering my hands and forearms. I hold the kunai in a death grip, falling against the wall opposite of the bathroom door. I think I hear the door to the inn room open.

"Hello? Is everything alr- HOLY SHIT!" I think it's… the caravan leader? Maybe the innkeeper? "Hey, kid, are you alright?" The man runs over and crouches down in front of me.

I curl up into a ball and respond, "K-kaa-chan…" I fall silent. I disgust myself, falling silent, being so _vulnerable_.

I feel myself slowly raise my finger to point to the bathroom.

"Kami… fucking hell…" The man looks at the corpse of my mother, horror written across his face. "What the..? WHAT THE FUCK?!" he shouts, running to the hallway, shouting out for somebody to get help.

I feel my consciousness fade.

* * *

 **Before somebody starts asking why I killed off both of Roiyaru's parents, it's primarily because of plot reasons. Also because I wasn't happy with how they were characterized so far, but mostly plot reasons.**

 **What plot reasons, you may ask? Yeah, you'll find out.**

 **My normal update schedule will probably be every two weeks, but more likely three or four. Don't sue me, I'm lazy.**


	5. Chapter 5: Recovery

**This was too short for how long it took me to get it out. Technically, I'm damn close to on schedule, but nonetheless, I am displeased. I didn't even get everything I wanted in this chapter.**

* * *

I try to lift my eyelids, but they don't respond. I attempt to force myself up, but my arms are sluggish and I quickly give up.

"Hey, Roiyaru-kun, are you awake?" I hear a familiar voice coming from the side.

I force my mouth to work, to respond. "Y-yes... I am. Is that you, Furutani-senpai?" As I speak, my mouth becomes more responsive and speech becomes easier.

"Yeah, it's Furutani. You're in the hospital," he says. I hear some shifting, and I think he comes closer. "Open your eyes, Roiyaru-kun, you'll get out of here faster if you can begin physical therapy sooner."

I struggle for a few seconds and manage to open my eyes. "Physical therapy?" I tilt my head to look at him questioningly.

"Weird experimental thing that the doctor's thought of." I try to move my fingers, wincing in pain as I do. "Don't try to move your hand without the permission of the doctor, okay?"

"Okay," I say, turning my gaze to the ceiling. "What happened?"

Furutani is silent for a few seconds, then a minute. He finally responds, "I'm going to lie. Your kaa-san is dead. After you… discovered her corpse, the innkeeper found you curled up into a ball against the wall with a broken hand and that kunai I gave you. It's on the table over there," he gestures to the item in question, off to my right. "The entire situation is currently… under investigation. Nobody's really sure what happened, so… don't be surprised if some of the Military Police come and ask questions once you're recovering."

I stare at the ceiling, boring a hole into it. "Who…" I clear my throat, "Who am I going to stay with now?" I look back down at Furutani, who at this, has a sad smile.

"Ah, I've offered to take you under my wing."

My eyebrows shoot up. "But- you're… what?" I stammer for a moment or two.

He chuckles at my surprise, though I can tell he's not very pleased. "You grew on me, kiddo," he admits, scratching the back of his head, "and they also found my address in your pocket. Which is why I even know that this happened."

I take a moment to consider this. I'm not entirely sure if he'd really be able to support taking care of me, extremely self-reliant or not. I don't really know the income of a genin, though, so I can't say. He does, however, seem to be old enough for the responsibility. Not a hundred percent on his exact age, but old enough.

Also, I like the guy. Kinda renders the rest of the points moot.

Meanwhile, Furutani has continued his rambling.

"All of that aside, I should let the doctor know that you're awake," he stands up, turning his back to me as he walks out of the room.

I look to my right, at the kunai. I shift over to it as far as I can manage without excessive pain, stretching my arm over, my fingers brushing against the handle. The kunai grip is pushed away from me as the kunai rotates away from me. I jolt as an angry female voice cuts through the air.

"Not one inch closer, young man!" A blonde woman stomps over to me, capturing my wrist in simultaneously an iron and gentle grip, moving it back to my side. I'm too busy staring straight at her to really protest, though.

Of fucking course it's Tsunade, because _who else_ would it be? I successfully refrain from both sighing and staring, instead saying, "Eh? Why not, lady?" I innocently say, doing my best to look adorable.

Legendary shinobi- or future legendary shinobi, I guess- or not, _I want that damn kunai_.

Tsunade glares at me. "Don't play innocent." Her grip loses its gentle aspect. Ouch. Keeping my hand in her grip, she picks up the kunai with her other hand. "You're not going to be involved with anything remotely strenuous unless I authorize it. And there's no way I'm even risking you hurt yourself with a kunai."

Dammit. Of course she'd be immune to adorableness.

She turns and exits the room, kunai in hand, and I exhale through my nose. Well, Tsunade was unexpected, but I shouldn't be surprised. I saw Orochimaru earlier, why should Tsunade be special? Regardless of that, I have other things to focus on.

"Status," I whisper. No need for anyone to be questioning my sanity, after all.

The window opens in front of me, and I scan it for any abnormalities. Thank fuck, there isn't a single one. Besides a Condition named **[Crippled Hand]**.

 **[Crippled Hand]**

 **Afflicted person experiences -75% DEX and -25% STR when utilizing the afflicted hand. Using the afflicted hand has a 50% chance of lengthening the duration of the Condition and 10% chance of damaging the afflicted person. Using the afflicted hand even further may risk more permanent injury, depending on severity of injury and how stressful the usage is on the injury.**

Makes sense, fair enough, and it's not like I'll ever get the opportunity to worsen it with Tsunade breathing down my neck.

Speaking of… why was Tsunade assigned to me? The more I thought about it, the less sense it made. It makes me sorta… twitchy. I'm no ninja, and my injury certainly wasn't serious enough to warrant an outright iryō-nin, was it?

I tap my chin since I have no facial hair to scratch.

Not only that, but Furutani said my mother's death was _under investigation_. It seemed pretty straightforward to me; she committed suicide, as much as it hurt to think. The only suspect I could think of that may have been responsible for her death was…

Me. But… there's no way they'd label me as a suspect, right?

On the other hand… the murder weapon was a kunai owned by me, in a private room with just me and my mother, all without an alibi to account for me. Not only that, but I was injured with no clear explanation, _and_ I knew how to utilize chakra. My mother would, theoretically, be completely defenseless against me.

I stare blankly at the ceiling, shifting uncomfortably.

Shinobi wouldn't dismiss the possibility. Child or not, I could still fight, and anybody that can fight can kill.

Tsunade being my doctor suddenly made sense. She's not just keeping an eye on my wounds, she's also keeping an eye on me.

I screw my eyes shut. I'm not going to let myself trip and fall down this rabbit hole of paranoia. I was fucking _two years old_ , there's not a chance in hell they'd actually throw me in prison, whether they thumbed me as the perpetrator or not.

If they did, they'd probably…

Force me into their Shinobi Corps. Of fucking course. I'm a **[Prodigy]**. They're gonna use this to force me into it, whether they think I'm the culprit or not. I'm a Fire Country citizen, orphaned at a young age, and a damn **[Prodigy]**. I'm guaranteed to become a shinobi, now.

Not that I wasn't going to become one before, but I at least I had a choice.

Now the choice is gone, so it's more like I'm invested in my career than like I'm being forced to.

Optimism is great.

* * *

The hospital is as boring as the Great Prophet Furutani foresaw. Even worse, since I'm pretty sure being a toddler is fucking with my head and energy levels in some way. Despite the decrease in my max CP.

My **[Crippled Hand]** had faded away _yesterday_ , but Tsunade had insisted that I stay for another day for physical therapy. I accepted it, primarily because I didn't have much of a choice.

According to her, physical therapy was something she'd thought of recently that she'd decided to test out with me. Without authorization.

Yeah.

Clearly, the concept of physical therapy hadn't progressed much since she was only having me stay for a single day rather than the longer time that was typical of it.

In other news, I got my kunai back.

There was something happy and sad when Tsunade finally returned it. On one hand, it was a gift from Furutani, and Furutani was awesome. On the other, it was the method of my mother's death.

I wasn't the type to hold grudges, I'd told myself as I had been tempted to throw it out the window. But I knew I was. I'd hold that grudge and let it stew like I always did.

I really didn't hold the grudge against the kunai, though. I held it against myself.

I was weak. Unattentive. I should've realized I didn't have the kunai. I should've realized my mother was on the verge of suicide. I should've…

I shook my head, discarding that whole line of thought.

The fact that I was weak, however, remained. I need to get stronger, fast. I was already doing it at unmatched speeds, but it _wasn't fast enough, dammit._

Besides all that, the hospital stay had indeed been boring. The only really interesting parts were when Tsunade or Furutani would hold a conversation with me. Or, really, just be present at all. At least I could watch them do something-or-other, then, and not have to stare and unchanging scenery the whole time, left to sort out my own thoughts and emotions without distraction.

I recognized that being alone was bad for me, right now. Furutani did, too, but Furutani couldn't be present all the time. I didn't blame him, or Tsunade, for that matter. They both have other shit to deal with than a prodigious toddler.

The shinobi investigators, though, just loved to pester me. About my mother, about my discovery of her corpse, about me, about where I was… you get the idea. I was right, I was obviously a suspect.

And now…

The shinobi standing in front of me explaining my current situation.

Indeed, they'd declared me the murderer of my own mother. Indeed, I was fucking _pissed_.

Indeed, just as was suspected, this fucking shinobi motherfucker was telling me, that I could always just _become go to the academy and become a loyal Konoha shinobi and all would be forgiven_. Not his exact words, but still, that's what it basically was.

At least, judging by the deep frown on his face throughout his lecture, he was just as displeased with my current situation as I was. I'm trying to avoid shooting the messenger.

Ah, he's finally shut up.

"I'll take the option that does not end with me being imprisoned, thanks," I say, glaring at the openly uncomfortable shinobi.

Dammit, I just shot the messenger.

"Er… okay, listen, kid, you'll be staying with a shinobi who'll train you for the next two years. Then, you'll join the Academy," he fidgets slightly, "where you'll lear- will you quit glaring, kid?"

I narrow my eyes but lighten my gaze.

"Right. At the Academy, you'll be taught other skills that your shinobi guardian didn't. Among other things. Frankly, it's not my job, and I'm happy for it."

I tap my foot against to floor. "Great. Can I go to… wherever I'll be staying, now?"

"Sure, sure," the shinobi says, waving a hand, "you'll be staying with some genin. Furutani, I think his name is?"

"Yeah, I already know him. Can I be brought to his place, then?" Despite my want to not get pissed at him, my anger was bubbling again. Dammit.

"Well, I've got another job to get 'round to, so here's his address." The shinobi gives me a slip of paper, and ninjas away.

"I'm two," I grumble. Stupid Narutoland and its non-attention to children.


End file.
